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Mar 22, 2017, 09:00am

How To Take Advantage Of Facebook's Recent Advertising Updates

A picture taken on December 28, 2016 in Vertou, western France, shows logos of US online social media and social networking service Facebook. / AFP / LOIC VENANCE (Photo credit should read LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

Advertising on Facebook and taking videos viral can change your life forever. In the past year, I have created two companies and took them from $0 in revenue to multi-million dollar brands in a matter of months, all through the power of Facebook. Not only has this given me the opportunity to work one-on-one with Facebook employees to stay ahead of the ever-changing platform, but it has also made it possible for me to spend over a million dollars in advertising to split test all of the different advertising methods Facebook has to offer.

If you want to stay ahead of the game, you have to be willing to spend money not only on creative content, but also on testing the new advertising methods. In the next three-to-four months, we can expect Facebook's community to introduce some of its biggest developments yet. With positive social impact in mind, Facebook is paving the way for a more competitive platform in advertising. The biggest names like Nike, Amazon, Apple, etc. will be utilizing Facebook even more, sparking the cost and value of advertising to increase. As the demand for ad space grows, the literal space for it on newsfeeds diminishes. But with the right tools and content, the way we market and utilize the changes Facebook initiates will be the tell-all of success for advertising and growing brands.

In order to keep your company competitive and relevant on Facebook, here are some tips to keep you winning on the platform:

Create High-Quality Content

With Facebook adding pre-roll and mid-roll video ads, it is a must to create videos over images for your content. Not only do videos convert at higher rates, but now the ability to build custom audiences off of the percentage that the video was watched is a game changer. Relevant, high-quality and attention-grabbing content is a must. It is worth the investment to get videos professionally done. When creating videos, always keep in mind that you only have seconds to grab a consumer's attention. Make sure the music or thumbnail evokes emotion in some way in order to attract the initial engagement. For creative ideas, keep an eye out for viral videos in your newsfeed and think about how you can make something similar that pertains to your industry.

Test For The Best Ad Placement

With the newsfeed becoming so saturated and competitive, it's important to start split testing different ad placements to figure out what gives you the best ROI. This means creating specific campaigns just for the desktop news feed, mobile news feed, audience network, instant articles and the new placements that are about to be rolled out, such as pre-roll and mid-roll videos.

Split Test Your Ad Copy

I have split tested over 500 different ad copies to determine the best placement for the CTA (call to action), the length of the ad text, and the best description for an ad. I have been able to determine that putting the CTA in the ad headline (below the creative) converts 32% higher, according to my test results. This means coming up with a creative five-to-eight word sentence to use in the headline is a must. For the ad text, it is best to not have it be more than two sentences, or keep it to bulleted points that talk about the benefits or features of your product or service. The description that only shows on desktops is a great place to sneak an extra CTA or benefit of the product.

Focus On The Funnel

A lot of Facebook marketers always are looking to go straight for the sale and never think about just getting an email address to start. It is great to get that initial sale or lead, but wouldn’t it be great to get that same sale for under $1? Something we all need to start thinking about is the funnel. Instead of focusing on sale initially, focus on getting just their email address. It will be much cheaper to get an email address instead of a sale.

This is just the start of many changes that Facebook will be making in the coming year. Facebook wants users to stay on its platform as long as possible meaning that high-quality, longer content will become king in the future. Implementing these strategies into your businesses now will allow you to stay ahead of the competition. It is important to stay up-to-date with all of the changes on the platform, and you can do that by visiting and utilizing their free resources. Just go to Google and type in “Facebook for businesses.” This will take you to its Facebook Business page that will give you a bunch of free tips and info about what is to come in the future.

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invitation-only, fee-based organization comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 45 and younger. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of th...